Newly hired CEO and President of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Tom Schmid said he knew about the loss of the zoo's accreditation by the National Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) before taking the position. However, Schmid said he was surprised by the move.
鈥淓verything that I know about the zoo, and I鈥檝e known about the zoo prior to this and certainly what I鈥檝e learned over the last several months indicates to me that the Columbus Zoo is meeting or exceeding, virtually all of the AZA鈥檚 accreditation standards,鈥� Schmid said.
Zoo officials responded to the report Wednesday in a press release which said they will appeal the AZA decision. They said the negative parts of the review were based on a now-disbanded ambassador animals program that used animals for TV and other appearances.
The AZA also was concerned about the mismanagement of funds by former leadership.
Former CEO Tom Stalf and former CFO Greg Bell resigned in March after an investigation found they allowed relatives to live in houses owned or controlled by the zoo and sought tickets for family members to zoo events. Those issues are still under investigation by the State.
鈥淢aybe we could have had a little bit stronger governance structure,鈥� Schmid said. 鈥淵ou know it鈥檚 very difficult when you have one executive doing this, but when you have two and they can collude that鈥檚 exceedingly difficult to catch sometimes.鈥�
Schmid said he already has seen positive changes.
鈥淎 number of internal policies and procedures have been enacted to make sure nothing like this happens again,鈥� Schmid said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e actually spoken directly with the Chairman of the Zoo Board as well. And I certainly know that I will be under more scrutiny which I welcome.鈥�
Schmid said an appeal of the AZA decision is appropriate.
鈥淚鈥檓 firmly behind the existing staff there as well as Jerry Borin who is our interim CEO in terms of filing this appeal,鈥� Schmid said. 鈥淲e want to make sure they (AZA) understand our case and our perspective, and we鈥檒l just see how it plays out.鈥�
The AZA did commend the zoo on 17 of its procedures for its animal operations.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to do a better job of sharing with the public how we care for the animals, how we monitor their welfare and their wellness, and what we鈥檙e doing to help animals in the wild,鈥� Schmid said.
The zoo has until October 30 to appeal the AZA鈥檚 decision. If that fails the zoo can apply again for accreditation in September 2022.
